High-octane Buffalo Sabres surge in Week 19 power ranking
By Sion Fawkes
Even without Alex Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin on the ice, the Buffalo Sabres still brought their high-octane approach, and it helped them surge up the rankings.
We can thank fate that the Buffalo Sabres won three games in a row, as the Week 19 Atlantic Division Power Ranking would have been pretty boring had they not. So what made this week’s power rankings look relatively the same Week 18’s sans the Sabres surge?
Overall, there was little variation in on-ice performance among seven of the Atlantic Division’s eight teams. So let’s take a quick look at these rankings and find out where the Blue and Gold landed heading into Week 19.
8 – Montreal Canadiens/25-30-4 (54 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 8
The Canadiens scored convincing 5-2 wins over the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils. Problem is, they’ve also been blown out in three of their previous five games, with opponents outscoring them 16-5 in those losses.
7 – Florida Panthers/29-26-6 (64 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 7
The Panthers eeked out a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks to avoid a complete collapse over their last three games. They couldn’t get anything past Craig Anderson in their loss to the Buffalo Sabres, and they also lost 7-3 to the Nashville Predators two games before that.
6 – Ottawa Senators/28-26-4 (60 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 5
In their last four games, the Senators have scored wins of 7-2 and 5-2. They also lost to the Boston Bruins by just two goals. Their shutout loss vs. the Carolina Hurricanes, however, shows that they still have a long way to go.
5 – Detroit Red Wings/28-22-8 (64 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 4
The Red Wings continue to hang around the Eastern Conference’s playoff race, but their shutout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t help. The upside? This team has won seven of their last 10 and they could be getting hot during the most crucial time of the year.
4 – Buffalo Sabres/31-23-4 (66 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 6
The Toronto Maple Leafs must have been the catalyst in the Buffalo Sabres latest surge. The Blue and Gold beat both Florida teams for the first time in recent memory, and upended the Washington Capitals without two of their star players.
3 – Tampa Bay Lightning/37-18-4 (78 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 3
After letting two leads slip away, the Sabres finally finished one out against the Lightning. Tampa took out their anger on the Detroit Red Wings in a 3-0 shutout, before they allowed themselves to lose big against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
2 – Toronto Maple Leafs/37-15-8 (82 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 2
The Maple Leafs are yet another team getting hot in the Atlantic. After their blowout win against the Sabres, they won a nailbiter vs. the Minnesota Wild before going into Seattle and crushing the Kraken.
1 – Boston Bruins/45-8-5 (95 points)
Last Week’s Ranking: 1
The Boston Bruins have won six games in a row and they’re showing no signs of slowing down. In three of those wins, they scored at least five goals, and this team seems to be heating up as the playoffs near.
Trending. Tuch’s injury likely won’t open serious trade talk at forward. light
Overall, it was a great week for the Buffalo Sabres, sans their embarrassing loss to Toronto. If they keep up their high-octane play and stay physical, the Blue and Gold will hang with even the league’s best. In fact, they’re playing the league’s best next week, so they might just be able to drive that projection home.
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